


On The Other Side

by SilverMoonSky



Series: Ladynoir July 2020 [8]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Never Went to Public School, Dorks in Love, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Flustered Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Flustered Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Gamer AU - Freeform, Identity Reveal, Ladynoir July, Ladynoir July 2020, Love Confessions, Requited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonSky/pseuds/SilverMoonSky
Summary: When the two of them had first met online two years ago, Marinette never would’ve figured he’d come to mean so much to her, but he did. He was her best friend. He was her gaming partner. She cared about Chat more than she’d ever admit.Maybe it was stupid. Maybe she shouldn’t feel this strongly about a stranger she’d met on the internet. Maybe she was being too trusting, too naive. Perhaps Chat was a terrible person and she was playing right into his trap.Yet here she was at sixteen, falling hard for him and showing no signs of stopping.Written for Day 12: Falling for Ladynoir July.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Ladynoir July 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812397
Comments: 20
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wasn’t going to split this fic into two, but I really wanted to post something today and wouldn’t have been able to get this done in time. The second part will be posted sometime in the next couple of days :) Enjoy!

“Pound it!” Chat’s voice boomed through her headphones. Marinette could almost hear the grin on his face as she stared at the screen.

“Pound it, Chat,” Marinette said into her headphones with a laugh. “Can you believe it? We actually did it!”

It had taken  _ years, _ but at last they’d achieved victory. Marinette happily spun around in her desk chair and beamed with delight. On the screen, both of their avatars—her ladybug themed one, and her partner’s black cat themed one—stood over Hawk Moth, the final boss they had to defeat in Paris’ most popular MMORPG game: Miraculous. After ages of fighting akumas after akumas, they’d  _ finally _ managed to beat the game, and based on what the forums said, Marinette was pretty sure she and Chat were the first ones to have done it.

When the two of them had first met online two years ago, Marinette never would’ve figured he’d come to mean so much to her, but he did. He was her best friend. He was her gaming partner. She cared about Chat more than she’d ever admit.

Maybe it was stupid. Maybe she shouldn’t feel this strongly about a stranger she’d met on the internet. Maybe she was being too trusting, too naive. Perhaps Chat was a terrible person and she was playing right into his trap.

Yet here she was at sixteen, falling hard for him and showing no signs of stopping.

“It’s all thanks to you, my lady. Your plan at the end was brilliant.”

Marinette blushed. “You were great too, Chat. We couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t reacted fast enough.”

Chat hummed on the other end. Silence fell between them as the two of them mulled over their thoughts. Marinette felt nothing but joy within her; she and Chat had gone through so many tough raids and battles in order to get where they were now. It felt like it an eternity since she’d first met his avatar on that street. They hadn’t gotten along too well at first, but here they were now, as partners who’d just beat the game.

Marinette leaned back in her chair and relaxed, stretching her arms above her head as she yawned.

Chat chuckled in amusement. “It looks like someone’s tired.”

“It’s past midnight, Chat. We have school tomorrow.”

“Well then, my lady, I think it’s time we both go get some sleep. And then we can figure out plans to meet up.”

Instantly Marinette was wide awake. She shot up in her seat, shocked. “W-what?”

“Remember?” Chat’s voice rang with earnestness as he said, “you said that we could finally meet up in real life after we beat the game.”

Marinette felt her face heat up at the prospect of actually meeting her gaming partner in real life. “Right,” she muttered. “I  _ did _ say that.”

“So can we, bugaboo?  _ Please?” _

“I thought I told you not to call me bugaboo.”

“If we meet up in person, I promise I won’t call you that.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Really, I  _ purromise. _ Cat’s honor.”

Marinette had always been hesitant to meet Chat. He’d always insisted on it, but each and every time she refused. At first it was because she didn’t want to trust a stranger, then it had been because it was the right thing to do, and now?

It was because she had feelings for him. If her heart pounded so much when all she was hearing was his voice, what would happen when she saw him in person? There was no way the interaction would happen without her stuttering and stumbling like an idiot. Not seeing him face-to-face helped her converse with him better, but what if meeting up ruined their friendship forever? What if they’d never talk with each other again?

She’d read too many horror stories on the internet—she didn’t  _ want _ to believe Chat wasn’t who he said he was. However, there was the possibility.

And yet, Marinette really,  _ really _ did want to get to know Chat. She really wanted to know who the boy behind the screen was—to learn more about his personality, his family, his friends,  _ everything. _ She truly did want that. She wasn’t necessarily looking forward to it; after all, meeting him in real life meant acknowledging that her feelings were  _ real.  _ There would be no going back.

She didn’t know whether or not she could handle that.

But she had to try, right?

Marinette sighed. “Is Saturday okay with you?”

Chat’s voice instantly perked up. “Wait what? Seriously? You—you’re  _ actually _ agreeing?”

“Don’t make me change my mind, kitty.”

“Great, it’s a date!”

Marinette felt herself choke on thin air. Her cheeks lit on fire for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. She was immensely grateful he couldn’t see her face. “Chat!”

“I meant  _ the  _ date, my lady,” Chat said innocently. “Not  _ a _ date. Unless you want it to be,” he added as an afterthought.

“No!” Marinette spluttered. “No, the date it’s not—I mean, it’s not the date—I mean! No! It’s not a date! We’re just friends!” Her voice raised higher and higher with each word, and she buried her face in her hands.

Chat seemed amused. “I never said we weren’t.”

“Anyways!” Marinette attempted to play off her rambling by changing the subject. “It’s getting late, we should probably head to bed.”

“Wait, so Saturday? Where do you want to meet?”

She bit her lip, thinking. “Let’s meet at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. If we meet early enough, we should get the entire bakery to ourselves.”

“To ourselves, huh?” Marinette could almost hear him wiggling his eyebrows as he said, “what are you planning?”

“Nothing like that! I was just thinking we could have breakfast there, and then we can spend the rest of the day doing other things.”

“Oh? Like a date?”

“Chat!” she hissed. “I told you, it’s  _ not _ a date!”

“Fine,” Chat said, though he didn’t seem convinced. “I can plan what we’ll do afterwards. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. Oh, and one more thing,” Marinette said, “wear your avatar’s colors so I can identify you. I’ll wear red and black. Oh, and wear the mask too!”

“What? Why?”

She grinned. “For fun.”

There was also the fact that hiding behind a disguise—similar to how she hide behind a screen and headphones—would probably help her feel a lot more confident while talking to him. “We can take off our disguises later.”

“That works,” he said. “I’ll see you Saturday, then.”

“Yeah.” Marinette felt more and more butterflies fluttering within her. Years later, this was  _ finally _ happening. She was  _ finally _ going to meet up with him—and she didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Sweet dreams, my lady.”

“You too, kitty.”

Marinette’s headphones went silent, her mind raced with anticipation, and her dreams were filled with thoughts of a faceless blond haired, green-eyed boy as she drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets ready to meet her partner for the first time in person.
> 
> Written for Day 17: Future for Ladynoir July.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't been feeling too inspired to write atm, which is why I haven't posted too much lately. I'm a bit disappointed because Ladynoir is my favorite side of the love square, but it is what it is. Again, I was going to make this longer, but I wanted to post something today so I decided to split it once again. Hope you enjoy <3

The closer Saturday came, the more Marinette became a nervous wreck. The night before they were supposed to meet, she couldn’t sleep. Marinette tossed and turned in bed, thinking and thinking about the day to come. What would Chat be like in real life? Was he tall? Lean? She knew he had blond hair and green eyes—just like his avatar—but she couldn’t help it. She’d hardly seen any pictures of him, and any pictures he did send, his face was always cropped out of the photo because she’d insisted it.

The more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. What if  _ she _ didn’t meet up to his standards? What if he would hate how short she was or how she was always clumsy? Whenever she talked to him as Ladybug, she had an aura of confidence around her because of the fact that she was hidden behind a screen. But on the other side? She was just Marinette. Clumsy, regular Marinette.

Some part of her told her to be reasonable, telling her that there was no way that Chat would ever think those things. That she knew him too well for that.

But the other part of her, one that jeered and jabbed at her insecurities, told her otherwise.

That night, she fell into a restless sleep, and for once in her life was she up bright and early. She had told Chat to meet her at the bakery at half past seven in the morning. It was  _ way _ earlier than she’d ever wake up, but considering the bakery opened at eight, it would give the two of them enough time to have breakfast in private. It hadn’t taken long for her parents to agree—in fact, they’d been ecstatic when she told them she was finally going to meet Chat in person—and with a bit of convincing, they’d also agreed not to bother the two of them.

(Marinette knew that wasn’t going to last, but she didn’t comment on it. The fact that they were willing to let her and Chat stay in the bakery was plenty enough.)

She had plenty of time to get ready. However, it didn’t stop her from worrying about every little thing. Tikki purred, weaving around her legs as she paced the room and fretted about her outfit.

“Do I have enough makeup on? Or oh no, is it too much? Is the dress okay? What if he hates it? What if he thinks I’m a complete disaster and he hates me and—” Marinette promptly cut off her rambling as her phone buzzed. She grabbed it to see that Chat messaged her on the private app they used.

**[TheChat’sMeow]: I’m at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Are you here yet?**

**[TheChat’sMeow]: Also, aren’t they closed? How did you manage to get them to let us in early??**

**[Bugaboo]: I have my ways ;)**

**[Bugaboo]: And I’m nearly there, I should be there soon**

Her cat let out another purr. The sound instantly soothed Marinette’s thoughts, and she leaned down to gently stroke her hand along Tikki’s back. Tikki arched her back as she continued to stroke her fur. Marinette instantly felt herself calm down. Her phone lit up with another text.

**[TheChat’sMeow]: Great. See you soon, my lady <3**

**[Bugaboo]: You too, kitty <3**

She took in a deep breath.

_ Don’t be nervous. This is just Chat Noir. Your partner. Your best friend. There’s nothing to be anxious about. _

She could do this. It was only a matter of walking downstairs into the bakery, meeting the boy who—in her opinion—was the love of her life, and having breakfast with him before finally bringing down the masks that had separated them for years.

This could very well be the best day of Marinette’s entire life, if she chose to make it.

Marinette took in another deep breath and looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a red sundress that was littered with black spots to represent a ladybug. It went just past her knees. She’d paired them with a pair of black flats. She’d also tied red ribbons in her hair, pulling it back into two signature pigtails, just like her avatar. To finish off the look, she’d carefully knotted a red and black mask over her eyes.

She bit her lip. Well then. This was it.

After bidding Tikki goodbye, Marinette slowly made her way down the stairs to the living room. She gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek before making her way out of the apartment. Her heart pounded harder and harder in her chest with every step that she went closer towards the bakery. So many thoughts swirled around her head: would he like her? Would they get along? Would they even manage to keep their friendship in the future despite the fact that it wouldn’t be just behind a screen anymore?

Marinette had absolutely no idea. But she had to try, right?

She was getting closer now. The door that led from the apartment building and into the bakery was in her reach. Chat was on the other side of that door. They weren’t separated by a screen anymore; just a simple door. If she opened it, she’d finally get to see him.

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Marinette took a deep breath. This was it. This was happening. This was happening and she’d never be able to go back and everything that happened at this moment would determine  _ everything _ —

She put her hand on the knob of the door. Took yet another deep breath. She closed her eyes, twisted it, and the door swung open as she walked inside, letting her eyes slowly flutter open.

At first, she didn’t see anyone except for her father. His large figure took up most of her vision. She walked closer. Her father’s voice echoed throughout the room as he spoke, but that wasn’t what intrigued her.

There was a voice—one that was familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time—conversing with Tom. A voice Marinette had heard dozens of times through her headphones, a voice that she’d come to love over the course of the past few years, a voice that belonged to the one person she’d fallen for and to the person whom she couldn’t _ stop _ falling for—

“Oh look, she’s here!” Tom beamed as he turned around. Chat was still hidden from her view. Tom patted his daughter on the shoulder before leaning into her ear and whispering, “he’s a very lovely gentleman. I approve.”

Marinette spluttered, but Tom simply winked and walked out of the area and towards the door she’d come through. She watched her father leave and slowly turned her head back around.


End file.
